Roll up, roll up, the figures are in! So, grab yourself a cup of coffee, sit back, and see what’s happening in the world of social media statistics in Ireland for 2023…drum roll please.
According to Datareportal.com there are 4.99 million internet users in Ireland as of January 2023. That represents a whopping 99% of the Irish population! Of those, 79.8 are social media users, with 53.6% being identified as female and 46.4% as male (as of now, social media platforms only publish male/female gender figures).
If we exclude those who are under 18 year of age, this indicates 91.7% of adults are using social media – that’s a lot of marketing power!
So, just where are Irish people hanging out on social media for 2023??
Put your cup down and brace yourself for a shock – according to these statistics, LinkedIn is now one of the most popular social media platform in Ireland with 2.7 million ‘members’, giving your posts the the potential to reach 53.6% of the Irish population.
Now, I’m not one to say I told you so (nah, I totally am) but I’ve been telling businesses that LinkedIn is the one to watch for a long time now. It’s been steadily gaining popularity, despite its lack of challenges and filters, and is an excellent platform for promoting both yourself and your business.
I think its no-nonsense and ‘quality over quantity’ style posts appeal to many, especially as so many other platforms have become increasingly spammy and loud. Speaking of good quality LinkedIn posts…come follow me!
Next up is the old reliable, Facebook. Maintaining its strong presence both worldwide and in Ireland with 49.6% of the Irish population having accounts. 54.2% of these are female, while 45.8% are male.
Facebook continues to offer one of the best opportunities to reach a middle-aged plus audience online, being one of the more ‘mature’ social media platforms. It can also offer excellent marketing and engagement opportunities, especially for local businesses, with two-thirds of users reporting they visit a local businesses Facebook page at least once a week (Hootsuite, 2021).
Instagram is managing to hang onto its lead over TikTok as per January’s figures – but just about! 45.6% of Irish people have Instagram accounts v 42.6% with TikTok accounts. Both platforms attract more female users, 58.1% and 56.2% respectively, than male users.
In my experience, Instagram continues to be a hugely popular platform for businesses and is very much the main focus for many in terms of their content creation and marketing. That said, there is little doubt that TikTok is swiftly closing in on Instagram’s target demographic and it’s definitely the one to watch for 2023. Personally, I’m still not overly enamored with it…but then again, I am old.
Last but not least, 33.7% of the Irish population are still clinging onto their Twitter accounts – in spite of Elon Musk’s best efforts to get them to leave (whoops, did I just say that out loud?).
According to their own figures, over 60% of users are male, making it, along with LinkedIn, one of the few male dominated social media platforms. That said, Twitters figures are about as reliable as its posts these days. Over and out!
